Problem:

The major problem of deafness is not too little hearing, but too much interpersonal and informational isolation. The major problem of teacher preparation is not too little innovation, but too much of a "gap" or difference in the day-to-day instructional realities of college professors and their K-12 colleagues.

Solution:

Bridge the "realities divide" through the use of collaborative, technologically intensive, preservice teacher centered course activities. Use the resulting activities to first document, then understand and then address the instructional needs and learning opportunities of the K-12 setting.

Outcomes:

The nation’s 72 Deaf Education Teacher Preparation Programs, in collaboration with all of the major Deaf Education organizations, have agreed: 1) to establish local, regional and national networks of college professors, their preservice teachers, the existing teachers who provide field placements, the parents of deaf/hard-of-hearing (d/hh) students and d/Deaf adults; 2) to use those networks to support and recognize "technology proficient" preservice teachers and their faculty as they bridge the college-K-12 "realities gap" and as they produce new learning resources that serve to enhance instruction and improve learning; and 3) to use the resulting collaborative network to restructure Deaf Education Teacher Preparation through the incorporation of technology proficiency standards and through the establishment of a sustainable network of colleagues that will enable all d/hh students to meet high academic standards.